How is the CPP different from its two main rivals, The NPP and The NDC?

As the 2008 Elections draw near, certain questions are frequently asked by the electorates and the general public. These questions relate to issues of ideological differences among the various political parties in the country. The CPP has chosen to answer some of these questions in various settings and occasions. These questions and answers are an elaboration of various positions of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) contained in the Party’s various policy documents. It is meant to address in a concise manner certain topical issues of the day as the Party prepares for the 2008 elections. In this issue of the CPPNA Newsletter we have culled the following write-up that focuses on one such question: How is the CPP different from NPP and NDC?

The NPP says its stands for “property owning democracy,” while the NDC lays claim to “social democracy. ” The CPP stands for the only locally developed nationalist ideology, Nkrumaism, whose three main tenets are national self-determination; social justice; and Pan-Africanism:

• National self-determination: For our independence to be meaningful and worth the toil and blood of our forebears, we need to chart a national development course that is reflective of our history and our collective aspirations for a better Ghana. We should never allow others to dictate the pace and nature of our development for us. Such an approach to development, as we have witnessed since the CPP was overthrown in 1966, defeats the purpose of our independence and makes us subservient to the interests of other nations. National self-determination thus requires that we instill in ourselves, starting with our leaders, the confidence to achieve great things and then pursue a disciplined and purposeful agenda for a prosperous and just society. In concrete terms, this means putting a stop to the reckless transfer to “strategic investors” of our strategic national assets such as the Agricultural Development Bank (which is critical to our agricultural development strategy and by extension our economic independence), and the Tema Oil Refinery, that provides the lifeblood of our economy. These and other strategic assets must necessarily remain in Ghanaian hands, much as the home countries of these “strategic investors” also restrict ownership of their national assets to their governments or nationals.

The CPP, will therefore, emphasize the empowering of Ghanaians in all spheres of our lives, including business and government, to manage our own affairs confidently and competently and demonstrate to the world that what Kwame Nkrumah said 50 years ago is as relevant today as it was back then, that “the Blackman is capable of managing his own affairs.” We owe it to Nkrumah to demonstrate to the world that this is indeed true.

• Social justice. Development based on the obsessive pursuit of materialism, rather than a purposeful improvement of human welfare, invariably leads to greed, crime, inequality, and social dissatisfaction, The government’s recent report on poverty conceded that under the NPP’s “property owning democracy,” inequality increased by 15.0%, to levels commonly found in Latin America, where feudalism is often the culprit. The increase in inequality confirms the United Nations’ report in 2006 that Ghana’s Human Development Index (HDI) had declined from 0.555 in 2000 to 0.532 in 2004, despite the fact that economic growth increased from 3.7% to 5.8% over the period. Clearly, the NPP’s property-owning democracy has benefited a privileged few and impoverished the majority. The CPP is not against the acquisition of property by our fellow Ghanaians. Indeed, property and assets of all kinds are an important measure of a person’s prosperity and a nation’s ability to grow and develop. When such property is acquired by only a handful of people to the virtual neglect of the rest, however, both growth and development are threatened. Under the CPP, there will be no economic growth without human development.

Our policies in this regard will reflect our belief that the state does not only have the responsibility to provide economic and social opportunities for its citizens but it also has a moral and constitutional duty to assist, through sound policies, those who for whatever reason cannot take advantage of those opportunities. Our pursuit of social justice thus will find expression in such policies as subsidized public housing – giving opportunity to those who wish to own or rent low cost housing, depending on their preference and ability; unemployment insurance for Ghanaian workers; public food assistance for the poor, especially families with children; as well as opportunities for every Ghanaian child to have free education up to at least secondary school. Such policies shall reflect a more wholesome development of the country that will bridge the current divide between poor and rich, urban and rural, as well as the northern and southern halves of the country.

• Pan-Africanism. The essence of Pan-Africanism is the struggle for the dignity and progress of Africans all over the world. Pan-Africanism is important because no matter where we come from, we suffer the same prejudices, face the same challenges, and share similar aspirations. It is only logical that we work together for common solutions. It was no accident that Dr. Kwame Nkrumah helped to organize the Fifth Pan- African Congress in England in 1945 and within four years formed the CPP, which liberated Ghana from colonial rule and opened the flood gates for independence across Africa. Since the overthrow of the CPP, Pan-Africanism has lost much of its steam as efforts at continental development have been hijacked by reactionary forces under all sorts of “partnerships” that drive us deeper and deeper into dependence on others, undermine our self confidence and ability to fend for ourselves, and leave us vulnerable to the manipulation of our benefactors. If the CPP is voted back to power, Ghana once again will become the beacon of Pan-Africanism, fostering political, economic, academic, commercial, and cultural cooperation between African peoples at home and abroad. The current 8.4% of our external trade that occurs between Africans is not enough to strengthen our economies and strengthen our position in relation to the rest of the world. This situation must change. Increased continental trade will not only bring us together but it will strengthen our bargaining position at various international forums, reduce our dependence on outsiders so that we are no longer exposed to the kind of political manipulations that external dependence entails. Similarly, we believe that increased cultural, academic, political and scientific cooperation with Africans around the world will greatly advance the cause of Pan-Africanism.

This is but in a nutshell how the CPP is different from the NPP and the NDC.

“We face neither East nor West, we face forward” Kwame Nkrumah

Issued By :Convention People’s Party North America (CPPNA)

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